Machine for applying polish to floors and like surfaces



E. A. M. JQHNSON MACHINE FOR APPLYING P 2,499,026 OLISH v T0 FLOORS AND LIKE SURFACES Flled March 18, 1947 Feb, 28, 1950 Edward. 13N150" CW ATTORNEY INVENTOR:

Patented Feb. 28 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR APPLYING POLISH TO FLOORS AND LIKE SURFACES Edward Alexander Martindale Johnson, Cape Town, Union of South Africa 12 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved machine or apparatus for applying plastic or paste-like floor polish to floors and like flat areas or surfaces.

An object of the present invention is to provide a machine for this purpose which isadapted to be pushed across a floor by a long handle after the fashion of a carpet sweeper or the like, whereby the otherwise slow, tedious and uncomfortable method of applying polish to floor and like surfaces, is eliminated.

According to the present invention broadly the polish applying machine is characterized by a horizontally disposed cylindrical drum capable of rolling engagement with the floor or like surface having one or more slit or slits in the curved peripheral surface thereof, an extrusion or ejection roller located internally of the said drum and arranged to be held in constant rolling engagement with the lower portion of the internal curved surface of the drum, a hinged or like closure member provided on said drum for introducing the polish or like material into said drum, a polish spreading brush, .a suitable frame for connecting the drum in rotatable fashion and in spaced relationship to the said brush, and a handle member pivotally mounted on said frame; the arrangement being such that pressure and motion is transferred to the drum and brush by the operator through the handle, whereby the drum is caused to roll along the floor or like surface while the polish, ejected out of the aforesaid slit or slits when moving past the downwardl directed extrusion or ejector roller, is deposited on the floor and is evenly spread by the aforesaid brush. The slit or slits in the drum is or are preferably adjustable as regards their width whereby the amount of polish deposited or ejected may be varied to any desired extent.

According to one form of construction of the present invention the drum is constructed from two parts which are both of segmental troughlike shape and hingedly connected together. The smaller of said segmentally shaped troughs is adapted to act as the lid member (hereinafter termed lid) which in the closed position is adapted to form the continuous floor engaging surface of the drum. The said hinge is provided on the co-acting or joining edges of one end of the main drum part and the lid while the co-acting or joining edges on the opposite ends are provided with a suitable clip to secure the lid on the main segment shaped part of the drum, to form the aforesaid continuous fioor engaging curved surface.

The drum is preferably provided with one slit which extends transversely across the curved surface thereof. as regard-s its width by a movable flat plate associated with the drum. Said slit is preferably formed by a recess in one side of the lid or in the co-acting edge of the curved surface of the main drum part. The slit aperture adjusting means consists of a narrow plate member extending between the end perpendicular walls of the main drum part and having end extensions which are located in slots provided in said end walls of said drum part. The said end extension of the adjustable plate, protruding through the slot in the end walls of the lid, allows for adjustment of the said plate to effect the opening or closing of the slit to any desired extent.

The drum is provided in its side walls with suitable bushes through which short fixed axles extend into the drum and about which said drum is adapted to rotate.

The outwardly extending ends of the said short axles are rigidly, but removably, secured to the frame of the machine, while the inner ends which are located internally of the drum are each provided with a fixed downwardly directed element, which is held in close proximity to the adjacent circular and perpendicular end walls of the drum.

The polish extrusion or ejector roller which ex tends almost throughout the entire width of the drum is rotatably located interiorly of the drum between the lower ends of the said downwardly directed elements and is thereby adapted to be held in contact with the internal curved surface of the drum, so that on rotation of said drum polish is forcibly ejected out Of the slit whenever the said slit passes below the said roller, and is deposited on the floor or like surface.

The frame in which the drum is mounted, is preferably of U-shape having the ends of its parallel limbs secured to the polish spreading brush. The handle is fixed in pivotal fashion to the said frame in a position in between the drum and the brush, so that the pressure applied through the handle is suitably distributed between said drum and brush.

The polish spreading brush in one form of construction is of substantially V-shape so that the ejected polish from the drum may be spread into corners where the floor joins a wall.

The outer curved surface of the drum is preferably covered with a felt-like covering material. which should, however, not cover the slit or slits in the drum surface.

The aforesaid downwardly directed elements Said slit is preferably adjustable sides are disengageably secured together by a In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and carried into practice, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine for applying polish to floors, constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. '2 is a plan of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the drum, taken on line HI--III of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the drum taken on line IVIV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of the drum taken on line V-V of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is an end view of a shaft about which the drum is rotatably located.

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral i denotes the substantially U-shaped frame of which the ends 2 of the parallel limbs are fixed to'the V-shaped polish spreading brush 3. The frame 3 is provided on each of its parallel limbs with a bracket A which have substantially inverted V -shaped recesses for the reception of the correspondingly shaped outer ends 5 of the sta tionary short shafts 6, about which shafts the drum 1 is rotatably located.

The short shafts 6 engage with their cylindrical portions 8 in the bushes 9 fixed to the vertical end walls ill of the drum 1, to allow for the required rolling engagement of the curved surface of the drum l on the floor surface ll. The extreme inner ends of the said shafts 6 extend into the drum beyond the inner surfaces of said end walls ill and are rigidly secured to the upper ends of the parallel limbs M of a substantially vertically disposed U-shaped member. Said U- shaped member is formed by said parallel limbs M and-a cylindrical horizontal connecting bar 13 on which the roller I2 is rotatably located.

The roller I2 is held in rolling contact with the inner curved surface 56 of'the drum 1 by said bar it in order to eject the polish, contained in the drum through the transverse slit l5 so that a small quantity will be deposited on the floor surface H during each revolution of the drum 1.

The drum '1 is constructed from two segmental trough-like shaped. parts I7 and 18 which are connected together by the hinge H! on the coacting edges of corresponding vertical sides there- The co-acting edges of the opposite vertical spring clip 20. Three of the co-acting edges should form close contact to prevent escape of polish.

The slit I5 is formed by the spacing of the remaining pair of co-a'cting edges of the parts I! and I8 and has its aperture rendered adjustable by a movable plate H which is slidably disposedin a pocket 28 formed in the curved surface of the part I! of the drum I. Said plate 2| is provided with two extensions 22 extending 4 outwardly of the drum 7 and disposed adjacent to the endwalle i5 thereof, whereby adjustment of the slit aperture, or total closing thereof, may be readily accomplished from the outside of the drum.

Polish is prevented. from massing between the limbs i i and roller :2 by a heavy metal ball 23 loosely located internally of the drum 7. Due to the jolting movement of the ball 23 in the drum l during operation of the machine, the polish gathering between the said parts is continually broken away.

The inverted V shaped ends 5 of shafts E are removably locked in the cc-acting recesses of the brackets l by suitable split ring-like clips 24, fixed to said brackets, whereby the drum 1 is secured to the frame i and ready removal is permitted.

The outer curved surfaces of the parts ll and i8 constituting the drum 5, are covered with a sheet of felt provided with an opening so that the slit Eli is left exposed.

The limbs id of the roller locating member extend downwardly at a slight angle to the vertical to locate the roller 52 slightly out of the vertical alignment to cause ejection of the polish just prior to the contacting of that part of the drum having the slit it with the floor surface ll.

The outer vertical. sides of the brush 3 are covered with resilient material to prevent damage to the building, walls and the like.

The bracket Ell to which the long handle 26 is fixed, is pivotally secured to the parallel limbs of the U-shaped bracket i at a position between the brush 3 and drum l. The handle 2'3 is of such a length that the machine may be operated without discomfort to the operator.

In another form of construction of the present invention, the frame of the machine may be con nected to an electrically operated or like polishing machine whereby further labour is saved by eliminating applying the polish to the floors, or portion thereof in a separate operation before the use of such electric or like floor polisher.

The floor polishing machine constructed ac cording to the present invention is preferably manufactured from plastic materials, metal or the like and is of a construction to permit the ready removal of the various parts for cleaning or replacement.

What I claim is:

1. An improved polish applying machine, comprising a horizontally-disposed cylindrical drum capable of rolling engagement with a floor or lik surface having a slit in the curved peripheral surface thereof, an ejecting roller located internally of the said drum and arranged to be held in constant rolling engagement with the lower portion of the internal curved surf ace of the drum b-y downwardly depending supporting means, a hinged closure member on said drum for introducing polish into said drum, a polish spreading brush, a frame for connecting the drum in rotatable fashion and in spaced relationship to the said brush, and a handle member p-ivotally mounted on said frame, whereby when pressure and motion are transferred to the drum and brush through the handle, the drum is caused to roll along the floor surface while the polish, ejected out of the slit when moving past the downwardly directed ejector roller, is deposited on the floor and is evenly spread thereover by the said brush.

2. An improved polish applying "machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the drum is constructed from two co-acting parts which are both of segmental trough shape and are hingedly connected together, the smaller of said co-acting,

segmental trough parts acting as the lid of the drum and forming with the other part a continuous cylindrical floor engaging surface when in the closed position.

3. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 2, in which the free edges of the main drum part and the lid part opposite to the hingedly connected edges, are disengageably secured together by a clip.

4. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 3, in which the drum is provided with one slit which extends transversely across the curved surface thereof.

5. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 4, in which adjustable means are associated with the slit to vary the amount of polish ejected when said slit moves past the downwardly directed ejector roller.

6. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 5, in which the adjustable means associated with the slit consists of a plate slidably located in a pocket provided between the curved outer and inner surfaces of the drum, said plate having extensions protruding horizontally outwardly of said drum through slots, whereby adjustment of the opening of the'slit is effected.

'7. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 6, in which a pair of short shafts, extending into the drum through bushings provided on the side walls of the said drum, are disengageably but non-rotatably secured to the frame by their outer ends, while their inner ends are each rigidly connected to the top ends of the parallel limbs of a U-shaped member comprising the ejection roller supporting means which extends downwardly into the drum and which carries on its horizontal part in rotatable fashion the ejecting roller which is in rolling contact with the inner curved surface of the drum for forcibly ejecting the polish contained in said drum, out of the slit whenever said slit passes below said roller.

8. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim '7, in which the vertical limbs of the U-shaped ejecting roller locating member are located in close proximity to the circular and perpendicular end walls of the drum.

9., An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 8, in which the frame in which the drum is rotatably mounted, is of U -shape and has the ends of its parallel limbs secured to the polish spreading brush, while the handle is fixed to said parallel limbs in pivotal fashion in a position between the drum and brush.

10. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 9, in which the polish spreading brush is of V-shape.

11. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 10, in which the outer curved surface of the drum is covered with a felt type covering material which leaves the slit uncovered.

12. An improved polish applying machine as claimed in claim 11, in which polish massing and packing between the parallel limbs of the U-'-shaped ejecting roller locating member, is con tinually prevented by the jolting movement of a heavy spherical element loosely contained in the drum.

EDWARD ALEXANDER MARTINDALE' JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 606,878 Rouse July 5, 1898 1,141,478 Mount June 1, 1915 1,508,541 Cross Sept. 16, 1924 2,085,371 Kitselman June 29, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 331,024 Great Britain June 26, 1930 

